Albania's ruling coalition, leftist opposition both claim election win

Albania's ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Sali Berisha's Democratic Party and the leftist opposition led by Socialist Party leader Edi Rama both claimed they had won most votes in Sunday's parliamentary elections, media reported. As polling stations closed at 7 p.m. local time (1700 GMT) after 12 hours of voting, both parties urged the Central Election Commission and other local commissions to allow late voters to cast their ballots. Rama was first to tell his supporters that his party's data suggested they had gained a comfortable lead over the coalition of Berisha, who is seeking a third mandate after two four-year terms in power. The Democrats were quick to reject Rama's claim of victory, saying their data showed they had won and Rama would suffer his most tragic defeat. Berisha and Rama have been crisscrossing Albania months before the campaign started officially to try to appeal for votes by promising jobs, tax cuts and economic growth. On Sunday morning, a leftist opposition supporter was blocked on the way to the polling station and killed by supporters of another party in a shootout in the town of Lac. The vote counting is expected to be delayed until late Sunday evening. Two exit polls gave different forecasts, with one predicting a landslide victory for the opposition, and the other expecting a win of the ruling coalition. First official preliminary results were expected on Monday.